Valve-gear drive for vertical engines.



H. R. SETZ.

VALVE GEAR DRIVE FOR VERTICAL ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AuG.23, 1915.

1,182,044. Patented May 9,1916.

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VIITN ESSI ATTOR N E V5.

H. R. SETZ.

VALVE GEAR DRIVE FOR VERTICAL ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-23, I915.

Patented May 9,1916.

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HANS R. SETZ, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

VALVE-GEAR DRIVE FOR VERTICAL ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

v Patented May 9, 1916.

Application filed August 23, 1915. Serial No. 46,966.

' for Vertical Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to multiple cylinder vertical internal combustion engines; and has for its principal object; the simplification and cheapening of the valve gear of such engines. Certain embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical section through the engine; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the engine taken at right angles to the section of Fig. 1: Fig. 3 is a section through a modified detail of construction; Fig. 1 is a horizontal section taken through a modified type of construction, and Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4.

The usual valve gear drive on vertical multiple cylinder engines consists of a gear shaft, running parallel to the engine shaft,

on which are mounted cams or eccentrics for operating the valves of the various cylinders. Each cam or eccentric operates the levers of one valve only, and the arrangement necessitates a multiplicity of parts,

which increases the first cost of the engines and calls for a good deal of attention during the operation thereof. The purpose of my invention is to reduce the number of parts necessary for the actuation of the valve and other controlling parts of the various cylinders, and this, briefly stated, is accomplished by arranging the gear shaft cross-wise of the engine shaft and utilizing each eccentric or cam on such shaft to operate a plurality of similar valves or other parts upon the cylinders. In this manner, the number of cams or eccentrics or other operating parts is re duced at least 50%, the cost of the valve gear drive is correspondingly cut down, and the construction is greatly simplified.

The invention is illustrated as applied to a two-cylinder four cycle engine, but it will be understood that the construction is applicable to two cycle engines and to engines in which the number of cylinders is any multiple of two. It will therefore be understood that the multiplication of the structure as shown and described, is intended also to be covered by the claims whereln the term two cylinders is used in its as referring to two or more.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the principal parts of the structure shown are as follows: 1 and 2 are the engine cylinders carrying the pistons 3 and 4; 5 and 6 are the connectgeneric sense -ing rods mounted upon the cranks 7 and 8 of the engine shaft 9; 10 is a spiral gear mounted upon the end of the engine shaft 9 and. meshing with another spiral gear 11 mounted upon a short transverse shaft 12, such shaft being mounted in bearings 13 and 14 as indicated in Fig. 2; 15 is a centrifugal governor carried upon the shaft 16; and 17 is a third spiral gear carried upon the shaft 16 and meshing with the spiral gear 11.

The admission of fuel to the cylinders is controlled by means of the puppet valves 18 and 19 carried by the stems 20 and 21,

and normally held in closed position by means of the springs 22 and 23. Bearing against the upper ends of these stems 20' and 21 are the pivoted plates 24: and 25 which plates are engaged upon their upper surfaces by the rocking shoes 26 and 27, such shoes being pivoted at 28 and 29 to the brackets 30 carried by the upper ends of the cylinders. The upper ends of the shoes are pivotally connected to the rod 30, and this rod 30 is pivoted at its free end of the bell crank lever 31. This bell-crank lever 31 is operated to reciprocate the rod 30 by means of the eccentric 32 carried by the gear shaft 12, such eccentric being engaged by the strap 33 connected to the bell-crank lever 31 by means of the connecting rod 34.

Starting with the eccentric in the position shown in Fig. 1 and rotating clockwise as indicated by the arrow, the first half of the rotation of the eccentric causes the valve 18 to open and close and leaves the valve 19 closed through such period, while the rotation of the eccentric through the second half of its rotation leaves the valve 18 closed, and causes the valve 19 to open and close. This, for the reason that the movement of the connecting rfod 30 to the right causes the lower face of thiishoe 26 to rock downward opening the valve 18, and causes the lower face of the shoe 27 to ride upward leaving the valve 19 closed, while the movement of the rod 30 to the left from the position. shown, causes the lower face of the shoe 26 to ride upward leaving the valve 18 in position,

while the lower face of the shoe 27 is moved downward causing the opening of the valve I 19. It will be seen from the foregoing that the single eccentric 32 causes the successive action at the proper intervals of the two valves 18 and 19, the only additional means required for operating the right hand valve 19 being the connecting rod 30 extending from the shoe 26 to the shoe 27. The spiral gearing upon the gears 10 and 11 is so arranged that two revolutions of the shaft 9 are required to give one revolution of the shaft 12, which relative revolution is of course necessary in a four-cycle engine.

' The exhaust valves of the engine are operated in precisely the same manner as the inlet valves 18 and 19. The shaft 12 is provided with a second eccentric 35 (Fig. 2)

upon which is mounted a strap carrying a connecting rod 36, such connecting rod 36 being secured at its upper end to a bell-crank lever 37, corresponding in all respects to the bell-crank'lever 31. The other arm of the bell-crank lever is connected to a rod 38, and this rod 38 operates the mechanism and valves corresponding in all respects to those shown in Fig. 1. It will be obvious that ad ditional eccentrics or cams might be arranged similarly to operate mechanical make-and-break ignition plugs, air starting valves, or injunction air valves on oil engines, the fundamental feature being the op eration of similar moving controlling devices on the two cylinders from the single eccentric or cam upon the gear shaft.

Fig. 3 illustrates a cam mechanism carried by the shaft 12 which may be used in place of the eccentric 32 of Fig. 1. In this arrangement a cam 39 is secured to the shaft 12 and engages rollers 40 and 41 carried by the link members 42 and 43. These members are pivoted at their left hand ends to the engine casing and at their right hand ends are pivoted to a link 44. This arrangement of cams gives the same reciprocatory movement to the rod 34 as does the eccencrank 47 by means of the pair of spiral gears 52 and 53, and the operating shaft 49 is driven from the governor shaft by means of the pair of bevel gears 54 and 55. Mounted on the operating shaft 49 are the eccentrics 56 and 57 by means of which the sets of valves are actuated. This actuation is accomplished by means of a connecting rod 58 which rocks the crank'59 and in turn reciprocates the cam 60. This cam. engages a roller 61 carried by the stem 62 of the puppet valve. It will be understood that there are a plurality of sets of puppet valves as in the other types of construction, the primary distinction of this apparatus as compared with the other lying in the fact that the operating shaft 49 is actuated at one end from the governor shaft, thus leaving the operating shaft free over its whole length for the arrangement of valve operating members, eccentrics or cams.

What I claim is:

1. In a vertical internal combustion en-- gine having two cylinders each provided with a valve,,an engine shaft, a gear there- -on, a gear shaft extending transversely of the engine shaft and transversely of the axes of the cylinders, agear thereon meshing with the gear on the engine shaft, a con necting rod, means carried by the gear shaft for reciprocating theconnecting rod, and a connection between the said rod and the two valves whereby they are both operated 1 therefrom.

for reciprocating the connecting rod, a bell crank lever having one arm connected to the upper end of the said connecting rod, and connecting means between the other arm of the bell crank lever and the two valves.

3. In a vertical internal combustion engine having two cylinders each provided with a valve, an engine shaft, a spiral gear thereon, a gear shaft extending transversely of the engine shaft and transversely of the axes of the cylinders, a spiral gear thereon meshing with the spiral gear .on "the engine shaft, a connectingrod, means carried by the gear shaft for reciprocating the connecting rod, and a connection between the said rod and the two valves whereby they are both operated therefrom.

4. In a vertical internal combustion engine having two cylinders provided with controlling valves, an engine shaft, a gear shaft extending transversely to the engine shaft and transversely to the axes of the cylinders, cooperating spiral gears on the engine shaft and gear shaft, an operating member on the gear shaft for operating the said valves, a governor shaft extending transversely to the said gear shaft, and a spiral gear on said governor shaft engag ing the spiral gear on the gear shaft.

5. In a vertical internal combustion engine having two cylinders each provided with a movable controlling member, an engine shaft, a gear thereon, a gear shaft extending transversely of the engine shaft and transversely of the axes of the cylinders, a gear thereon meshing With the gear on the engine shaft, a connecting rod, means carried by the gear shaft for reciprocating the connecting rod, and a' connection between the said rod and the two controlling members whereby they are both operated therefrom. i

6. In a vertical internal combustion engine having two cylinders each provided With a valve, a crank casing, and a crank and engine shaft therein, a gear shaft in the casing extending transversely of the engine shaft and of the axes of the cylinders, gearing between the engine and gear shaft, a connecting rod, means carried by the gear shaft for reciprocating the connecting rod, and a connection between the said rod and the two valves whereby they are both operated therefrom.

7. In an internal combustion engine having two cylinders each provided With controlling valves, an engine shaft, a gear shaft extending transversely to, the engine shaft and transversely to the axes of the cylinders, means for driving said gear shaft from the engine shaft, an operating member on the gear shaft and means to operate similar controlling valves on each cylinder from said operating member.

8. In an internal combustion engine having two cylinders each provided with com trolling valves, an engine shaft, a gear shaft extending transversely to the axes of the cylinders and transversely to the engine shaft, an operating member on the gear shaft for operating said valves, a governor shaft, and connections whereby the governor shaft and gear shaft are operated from the engine shaft,

HANS R. SETZ.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. C. 

